iran has acknowledged that serious damage was done to its nuclear facilities during the us and israeli bombings. washington approves $30 million of funding for a controversial us- and israeli-backed group set up to deliver aid in gaza. a massive climb-down - the prime minister caves in to labour rebels over changes to the benefits system. and a norfolk teenager becomes the first patient in europe to receive a potential cure for a rare immune disorder. hello, i'm luxmy gopal. the us defence secretary has

called the recent strikes on iran's nuclear facilities the most complex and secretive in military history - but he gave few new details about their impact. the iranian foreign minister, abbas araghchi, has now acknowledged what he called "serious" damage from the strikes, saying an assessment was under way. but he disputed president trump's assertion that there would be us-iranian talks next week, saying no such plan had been set. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet is in the iranian capital tehran - she is being allowed to report from there on condition that none of her coverage is used on the bbc's persian service, which broadcasts to the people of iran. this law from the authorities applies to all international media agencies operating in iran. here is her report. iran's state tv, the studio where the supreme leader's speeches are aired. but not today. not after israel attacked it...

explosion. ..forcing the newsreader to flee, her desk devoured by fire. today, a fiery message of his own from the ayatollah, said to have sheltered in a bunker during the war. translation: iran, with this iron national resolve, reject surrender. for a country like this, the idea of surrender is laughable to anyone who truly knows the iranian nation. for now, a fragile ceasefire. tehran starts to look like itself. its infamous traffic... ..its beautiful bazaars, residents are slowly returning to a city they left to escape the bombs. but for some, it's still a battle just to breathe. in this ward, there are

civilians, not soldiers. this man shows us his scars. he was working in the transport department when the entrance to the notorious evin prison was bombed. translation: israel lies saying they are only hitting military and nuclear sites. they hit a prison. i was there, i was hurt, and i'm amazed countries like england, france, the us and the un don't condemn israel. the abandoned american embassy, a monument to iran's troubled relationship with the west, accused of sponsoring terrorism, of trying to develop a nuclear bomb, charges tehran denies. but even inside this former embassy, a cafe serving iced americanos. amir tells me he wants to see a better relationship between america and iran.

so many iranians do. but in this dark time, there's still not much light. the message in public was defiant, but this blackened studio symbolises this dark moment in iran. the most difficult and dangerous decisions confronting the supreme leader, the most fateful choices in his nearly 40 years in power. a new, uncertain chapter in an old, long standing war. lyse doucet, bbc news, tehran. lyse joined us live from tehran a short while ago. she told us it's still unclear how much damage was done to iran's nuclear facilities. well, as we've been reporting on the news, there's been so many different assessments coming from different capitals. the united states continues to use the exact description,

starting with president trump, who in the immediate aftermath of those unprecedented strikes on iran's three main facilities, talked about how they had... the american bombs had obliterated iran's nuclear programme. then you had the intelligence assessment saying it was more limited, that it had only been set back a few months. and then yesterday, the supreme leader of iran, ayatollah khamenei, made his first speech since president trump announced a cease fire, accused the united states of exaggerating the extent of the damage. perhaps the clearest assessment came from the foreign minister of iran, abbas aragchi, who did say there had been serious damage. but the big question everyone is asking is just how far does that damage go? and the question of the rest of the world is asking is how... in what way, and how soon, can iran resume the nuclear enrichment? that was lyse doucet speaking to us earlier.

let's speak to our correspondent dan johnson, who's in jerusalem. we heard a defiant tone from iran's supreme leader around 18 hours ago, but we are hearing from the foreign minister that serious damage was caused. how close will we ever get to knowing the truth of how much around's nuclear programme has been set back? -- iran's nuclear programme. iran are subject to monitoring and inspections by the iaea but there have been moves in the iranian parliament for iran to drop out of iaea monitoring, so in terms of how that will be observed in the future, how israel, the americans and the rest of the world will be sure itself that iran is not rebuilding its nuclear programme, that is something that will have to be negotiated and agreed. at the moment, the iranians are saying they will not participate in those talks

until they themselves have a full assessment of exactly what the level of damages. in the meantime you have a war of words and this fight to control the narrative over exactly what has happened here. it might not in reality matter what has happened on the ground, the israeli leadership is trying to tell its people the conflict was justified and worthwhile, the us strikes were necessary and they have achieved their aim, the iranians are trying to tell their own people that their nation is not weakened and they could rebuild their nuclear programme if they choose to, although they maintain that is not in pursuit of nuclear weapons, it is just nuclear power. if we go back a few weeks to the start of this conflict when the israelis were saying the iranians pose an existential threat, the iranians were saying there is nothing to be concerned about, we are of no threat. now the americans and the israelis say the threat has been neutralised but the iranians maintain they could potentially build their -- rebuild their nuclear programme.

dan johnson in jerusalem, thank you. the united states is to give $30 million in funding to the gaza humanitarian foundation, a us and israeli-backed body set up to distribute aid in gaza. it's the first known direct us funding for the group. the ghf, backed by armed us contractors and israeli troops, has been operating in the strip since the end of may following an eleven-week aid blockade by israel. on tuesday, the un said more than 400 palestinians had been killed in recent weeks by the israeli military, while trying to collect food at the distribution sites. let's speak to our gaza correspondent rushdi abualouf, who's in cairo. just explain why we are seeing the level of casualties, according to the un and other sources, at these distribution sites? it is to do with how concentrated the crowds are around them, because there are just four main sites, aren't there? yes, and all of them are

in the south, not the north where half the population exists. in the south they have full distribution centres, two in rafah, one in khan younis and one in a camp, it is all an area under israeli security control so there is always the presence of israeli troops around, not inside the centres. we see every night thousands of people beginning to queue, and then they push towards the centre under darkness where the troops are there, and every night we get reports about israeli drones and tanks opening fire on the crowds. when we ask the people why do you risk your life, they always say because we have no other alternative. they prefer the old mechanism of food distributing to their doorstep or at least to their neighbourhoods, the only

organisation capable of doing this is the un agencies which the americans are not supporting, they prefer this new gaza humanitarian foundation. very briefly, what is the hope that that situation may improve for gazans in desperate need of a hit with this huge injection of funds from the us? -- gazans in desperate need of aid. from a gazan point of view, $30 million is very little compared to what is needed. each truck costs about half $1 million and gaza needs 400, 500 trucks every day, so the people are appreciating any money given to gaza, but $30 million is considered very little to what gaza really needs. rushdi abualouf in cairo, thank you. just confirming that $30

million in funding coming from the us is not enough, really, it barely touches the sites, but it is the first

you with bbc news. there's been a major u-turn by the uk government, which will make changes to its planned benefits reforms following a wave of pressure from labour mps. people who currently receive personal independence payments, or the health element of universal credit, will continue receiving what they currently get. instead, planned cuts will only hit future claimants. the climb-down comes after more than 120 mps from the prime minister's own party publicly criticised the government's plans. our political correspondent, damian grammaticas reports. sir keir starmer, saluted

this week as he visited royal marines training in holland. but it's his own troops among his backbenchers he's struggled to control, and who forced him into the most significant retreat of his premiership, with this u-turn over key benefit cuts. more than 120 had said publicly they'd block his reforms to disability and sickness benefits. chanting: when they say cut back, we say... the original plan was to limit who receives some benefits and cut others to save £5 billion. now, liz kendall, the work and pensions secretary, has written to rebel mps, saying there'll be no change for those currently receiving pips. no cuts for those currently receiving universal credit's health element. new claimants will face cuts. but support to help people back to work will be increased, and disability rights groups will be consulted on the reforms. miss kendall said, "we have listened to colleagues who support the principle of reform, but are worried

about the impact of the pace of change." these are really important changes, and shows how labour supports the most vulnerable, and also this overall package is about helping people get into work, which is absolutely a core labour value. i'm going to be backing it now because i think it is a good step forward and these major changes are very welcome, and i'm really delighted that the government's been listening. in ellesmere port on the wirral peninsula the original plan had left many deeply worried. camille, who has epilepsy, gets pip payments, her husband employment support allowance. they're going on about getting rid of universal credit and cutting off pip. we're going to struggle even more. and it's sad because that is scary for me, and as well as other families around ellesmere port. we're all going to struggle. jill is registered blind. she says people fear losing help, but change is needed. the welfare benefit system is very heavily used and spending huge amounts of money, which this country really can't afford.

and also, there are a lot of people getting those benefits that perhaps shouldn't be, and it must be a terrible juggling act for people to try and stop all the cheats, to make sure that people with genuine need are getting the benefits that they are entitled to. the conservatives say the government's u-turn and failure to get welfare spending under control will come at a cost, likely higher taxes. the liberal democrats, that a grubby deal will still hurt disabled people. but the government says its aim is to reduce the anxieties of those worried about the changes and put the benefit system on a sustainable footing. damian grammaticas, bbc news, westminster. let's speak to our political correspondent in westminster, leial nathoo. -- leila nathoo. this is yet another climb-down after the government's u-turn on winter fuel. what does it say about keir starmer's government's judgment? it is a massive blow

for keir starmer's authority, no doubt about that. this rebellion was a long time brewing, there were many representations privately and more publicly and i think i will be some reflection in number ten about how it came to this. in the event we got this deal last night that the government hopes will be enough to persuade a lot of them, more than 120 labour mps who had opposed the changes, and they say they are now confident that this bill will proceed as planned through parliament on tuesday coming before the commons and mps for a vote on tuesday, that is what the critics have tried to derail. they have offered these concessions, essentially protecting existing benefits claimants and bringing in money for employment support and involving disabled people in future reforms. there are already some labour mps who are saying this is not enough, we are still concerned enough not to support the bill, and i

think there is the short-term imperative are trying to get this legislation through but there are longer term implications because this bill is designed to save £5 billion by 2030. if they had softened some of these measures money will need to be found from elsewhere by the treasury so rachel reeves has to get those sums done now. there are wide of the -- wider questions for number ten both in terms of looking at how they got to the stage and what they could have done differently to avoid its coming to a head in this way. it also they are facing a noisy, confident bunch of labour backbenchers who are seemingly organised enough to mount this kind of challenge to the prime minister. how do they go forward with potentially difficult policies in the future? our correspondents leila nathoo in westminster, thank you. let's speak to labour mp nadia whittome, who joins us from westminster.

thank you for joining us. the mp who led the opposition to these proposals said the revised bill is a good step forward. what is your response? i have enormous respect for meg and my colleagues who led this, it was the right thing to do, but these revised proposals are nowhere near enough and would create a two tier benefit system in pip and the universal credit health element where somebody with the same disability and the same level of need doesn't get pip just because they became disabled at a later date, or gets less money in the universal credit health element because they became disabled at a later date. if you are, say, somebody with a fluctuating or degenerative condition, like someone with arthritis who does not need pit all the universal credit health element now but knows he will probably need it

in the future, that will be no comfort. if you are a parent of a disabled child who knows their child is likely to need pit in the future, that will not be any comfort to you. sorry to jump in, we just have limited time. many mps have said the welfare bill or the welfare system needs reforming, and the cost of health and disability benefits was £28 billion in the year before the pandemic and is now £52 billion a year and is forecast to rise further. what do you think should be done about that? of course the welfare system needs reform. otherwise how would you see that reform? -- how would you see that reform? nobody would say that more than disabled people, but welfare spending has not increased as a percentage of gdp, health and

disability benefits had so you should tackle the root causes like investing in the nhs, housing and council is that everybody should be worried about these cuts because anybody could become disabled at any point in their lives and that is why everybody needs the safety net, and this bill that has been rushed through parliament does not provide that. why do you think there is such an increase in the number of people claiming disability benefits for mental or behavioural health conditions? that increase from 2002... from 2024, at its current trajectory it is forecast to rise further. i think it is quite clear what the causes of that hour. we have had over a decade of austerity, we know there is a correlation between health and poverty, including mental

health. it has been well documented by clinicians and experts, and we know what we need to do to tackle that problem. that will cost money and we know the bottom line here is the government wants to make savings. how would you find those? would you put taxes up, presumably? i have been arguing for wealth taxes. these cuts would save £3 billion by pushing people into poverty. if we had 80% tax on assets over 10 million, that would raise eight times as much, £24 billion a year, that is just one example. there are other examples like equalising capital gains and income tax, the chancellor could adjust the fiscal rules. we will leave it there for now, but thank you so much. labour mp nadia whittome,

thank you for joining us from westminster. you can find more about the changes to the welfare cuts being proposed on the bbc news website. a teenager from norfolk has become the first person in europe to receive a new medication, which doctors believe could cure her life-threatening immune disorder. by the time she reached 19, several members of mary catchpole's family had died - including her mother and grandmother - as a result of the inherited condition known as apds. our medical editor fergus walsh explains. all her life, mary has carried the burden of a rare disease that killed her mother, grandmother, aunt and uncle. now that weight has lifted, the 19-year-old feels liberated. i just hope it will give me a new lease of life. it's really just a miracle. it means everything. it's bittersweet because obviously, my family members who passed away before

they could have it, and it has brought me new hope and new joy about my life, and it makes me feel i can just do anything. mary's ultra rare condition is called apds, and makes her highly vulnerable to infection. but she's the first patient in europe to get a transformative new drug. leniolisib, also called joenja, should stabilise mary's immune system by blocking the faulty gene which causes apds. it has a list price of £352,000 a year, but the nhs has agreed a substantial confidential discount. so here we're looking at a ct scan of a chest scan of mary. apds can cause lung damage and trigger blood cancers. mary's consultant at addenbrooke's hospital hopes the new drug will prevent that.

it's extremely significant. we have a treatment that's targeted specifically for the disease. so that in itself is absolutely transformative and amazing. the future is that she potentially has a drug that leads to a cure, and it's a simple tablet. mary's mother was just 43 when she died. other affected family members also died prematurely. she died quite young, which was always a fear, that i'd die young, too. but with this medication, i know i can have a longer life, which is what she'd want. mary's dad feared he'd lose her, too. to know that is possibly the future for your daughter was really gut wrenching. but this has given her a chance to just live a normal life and have a family herself if she wants to. it's wonderful. mary's family played a crucial role in pinpointing the genetic origins of apds by providing blood samples for researchers at addenbrooke's.

this is the lab at the university of cambridge, where the faulty gene which triggers apds was discovered in 2013. to have an effective licensed treatment, just 12 years later, is astonishingly fast. the drug is one of several new targeted treatments which are helping to transform the lives of patients with rare diseases. it's thought up to 50 apds patients in england could benefit from the drug mary is taking, a treatment which is giving her a sense of independence. i want to go on more adventures and take risks, and just find me without the illness, if that makes sense. because all i've ever known is medication, needles, hospital appointments, whereas now i can find out who i am, truly. fergus walsh, bbc news.

nice to hear about positive news developments. the headlines

this is bbc news. the headlines... iran acknowledges that serious damage was done to its nuclear facilities during the us and israeli bombings. washington approves $30 million of funding for a controversial us and israeli-backed group set up to deliver aid in gaza. the drc and rwanda are expected to sign a historic deal to end decades of brutal fighting. the battle of narratives between washington and tehran over us strikes on iran's nuclear sites continues. here's our north america editor, sarah smith.